Manipur Makes History With First Gold In Men's Triathlon At 38th National Games

IMPHAL: Sarungbam Athouba Meitei made history by winning Manipur’s first gold medal in the men’s individual triathlon at the 38th National Games on January 26.  

The victory was even sweeter as Telheiba Soram won silver, giving Manipur a remarkable 1-2 finish. Maharashtra’s Parth Sachin Mirage took bronze in the triathlon, which includes swimming, cycling and running.  

Athouba showed great stamina and completed the race in 1 hour, 1 minute, and 1 second at Manaskhand Tarantal in Golapar. His timings were 9:55 for swimming, 31:53 for cycling, and 18:09 for running. He finished second in swimming, first in cycling, and fourth in running, showing consistency. Telheiba finished close behind with a time of 1:02:10, earning Manipur two podium spots.  

Athouba, 18, shared mixed feelings about his win, saying, “I’m happy, but I don’t know why I’m not completely happy. I just want to keep practicing and improving.”  

In the women’s individual triathlon, Maharashtra excelled. Dolly Devidas Patil won gold, Mansi Vinod Mohite took silver, and Aadya Singh from Madhya Pradesh earned bronze in a close race.

Dolly finished with a total time of 1:10:03, including 10:35 for swimming, 35:51 for cycling, and 20:37 for running, showing her all-round talent. The race for silver and bronze was tight, with Mansi finishing in 1:10:43, just four seconds ahead of Aadya, who clocked 1:10:47.  

Celebrating her first National Games gold, Dolly said, “I’m really happy. This is my first gold, and I worked very hard for it. I feel relieved.”  

The triathlon event, held two days before the Games officially opened in Dehradun by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, set an exciting start for the competition with outstanding performances.

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